Despite Britain having one of the best health systems in the world and also one of the better class educational systems, we are still a nation of exceptionally unhealthy people. We buy health insurance, we have all the advice we need at our fingertips, yet still Britain is edging ever closer to a pandemic of obesity, one of the biggest killers in the Western world.
The Western world has enjoyed a long prosperous time where things have been relatively easy. After the Second World War, the economy picked up, jobs were easier to come by and many of us came to enjoy a fairly affluent lifestyle in comparison to what we were used to. This has now reached a point where many people expect to have everything they want and more, and that includes food and health.
We want to enjoy all the foods that are available. The consumption of food is much more of a social occasion than a necessity these days and with the prevalence of fast food chains making life seem so easy, we have become lazy. It's much quicker to throw a meal in the microwave or do the McDonald's drive thru rather than stand a cook a nutritious meal from scratch. Add to this the instant entertainment of TV and computer games and we have become a nation of couch potatoes.
But there comes a point in life where it all goes horribly wrong. We become unhealthy, our aches and pains are playing on us more and more and we have very non-specific health issues that cannot be solved with health insurance but need extra effort and input from us. Unfortunately, after a fairly sedentary lifestyle, all of a sudden we don't want to make these changes. We want our health restored to the way it was when we took it for granted and abused it.
That is exactly the reason why people are falling for all the fad diets and pills on the market that promise to shave pounds off us overnight, rid us of the dreaded cellulite, restore our skin to what it was in our youth and solve all our little health issues along the way. All these promises come with a marketing ploy that basically says we have to do nothing other than pop a few pills and we'll be fine. But this is simply not true.
Read the small print on any product and it states that you MAY lose weight if you combine the 'magic' treatment with a low fat diet and exercise. Well, yes, of course. Because without this psychological pill we don't believe sensible eating does it for us. We use excuses like 'thyroid problems' to excuse us from losing weight. When the real answer lies simply in the sensible eating plan and exercise that you will be combining the pills with.
The latest fad to hit the market is an over-the-counter weight loss pill that promises you will lose up to 50 per cent more weight than dieting alone. When will people learn there is no quick fix to looking after ourselves in the long term? Fecal incontinency is the main side effect of taking such pills as fats - good and bad - are passed straight through the system with less time to be absorbed.
Essential nutrients and vitamins that help the body work efficiently will also not be absorbed as they should be on these pills. Research has also suggested that fat and carbohydrates are also substances that make you put on weight so reducing fat only will not necessarily help you lose weight. On top of this is the psychological effect. When you think you are getting rid of the fat you eat quickly, or that it won't have any effect, it is easy to take in more fat than you would otherwise.
The American Food and Drugs Administration is concerned that substances in these pills are actually bad for you and may cause pre-cancerous changes in the gut.
At the end of the day, we are all responsible for our own health. Moderation in eating, drinking and exercise is simple, effective and cheap so why go for the non-effective quick fix promises when it is our lives we are playing with?
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